In the disposal of radioactive wastes and particularly the disposal of radioactive nuclear power plant wastes or wastes derived from reprocessing plants for nuclear fuels and the like, it is conventional practice to provide standardized containers or receptacles having a predetermined shielding characteristic, in the interior of which the radioactive wastes are stored and which can be deposited for ultimate disposal of such wastes.
Because of industrial or government standardization, the customary practice is to provide standardized containers, i.e. containers with predetermined degrees of radioactive shielding, for the various types of wastes which may be produced or may have to be disposed of.
Naturally, such standardized containers cannot be used for radioactive wastes of different potency, i.e. a different degree of radioactivity. Thus, when radioactive wastes are generated which have greater or lesser radioactivity, it is necessary to provide standardized containers for these particular materials. For instance, when more highly radioactive wastes are to be disposed of, one normally uses a standardized container having a greater degree of shielding, i.e. a thicker shielding layer. Conversely, when radioactive wastes of reduced radioactivity are to be considered, a lesser degree of shielding may be required.
As a consequence, industrial or government standardization has resulted in the requirement that the installation generating such radioactive wastes must keep on hand a number of different standardized containers having different degrees of shielding for optimum disposal of radioactive wastes of different radiation intensities. This, of course, poses the problem for a nuclear power plant or an installation for reprocessing nuclear fuels since a large number of containers of different dimensions and shielding capabilities must be provided.